The value of dairy heifer calves plummeted 2 years earlier in response to poor milk prices and had not yet recovered. In 2016, when native beef supply began to return and normalize, the Holstein bull calf lost almost all value. The calf-fed Holstein model was recently reviewed by Schaefer et al. What followed, was a rapid growth in the, heretofore slim ( Thonney et al., 1987 Tjardes et al., 2002), body of scientific literature available about proper nutrition and management strategies to improve upon the Holstein genetics to yield a viable beef production model, known as the calf-fed Holstein model ( Carrasco et al., 2013 Martin et al., 2014 Carvalho and Felix, 2021 Carvalho et al., 2021). From 2011 to 2016 the proportion of dairy-type carcasses in the supply chain increased from 9.9% to 16.3% ( Boykin et al., 2017). One such alternative included increased sourcing of dairy-type animals to supply beef. With the drought of 2012, and the subsequent recession in beef cow numbers in the United States, the beef industry began to explore alternatives to maintain beef supply.

Existing published data are inconsistent among studies, highlighting the necessity for more research tailored to the United States beef production system Fewer comparisons of beef × dairy and dairy steers exist in the literature for other economically relevant carcass characteristics such as ribeye area, backfat, marbling, tenderness, and eating quality. Regarding carcass characteristics, across the literature crossbreds consistently yielded heavier carcasses that had lower proportions of trim than dairy steers.

Data from international production systems and from historic research suggests that beef × dairy cattle had greater average daily gains and converted feed to gain more efficiently than dairy steers. Economic pressures value preweaned beef × dairy calves at a premium over preweaned dairy bull calves however, there is little modern data to support that intensively fed crossbred calves maintain their premium value over dairy steers across the supply chain.

Current trends in the United States dairy industry suggest that crossbred beef × dairy calves are replacing a proportion of the calf-fed Holstein steers slaughtered for beef each year.

Raising holstein bull calves for beef